Receptionists and Information Clerks in Wisconsin
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$34,069
after federal, FICA and Wisconsin tax
Tax takes
$7,081
17.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,595
Wisconsin costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Wisconsin — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$41,150
Kept after tax
$34,069
Worth in national money
$36,595
State rank
12
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Wisconsin pays this job a middle wage of $41,150, ranking 12 of 51 states and sitting about 8.26% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in Wisconsin, this one sits low: 414 of 491 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Wisconsin is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $41,150 the take-home is $34,069; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $36,595 would nationally. The average lands at $40,940, below the middle of the range.
- Wisconsin's median for receptionists and information clerks is $41,150, about 8.26% above the national figure and 12 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Receptionists and information clerks occupies position 414 of 491 in Wisconsin's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Post-tax income for receptionists and information clerks in Wisconsin, on $41,150, is $34,069 — equivalent to $36,595 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $40,940 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Receptionists and Information Clerks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $29,530 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $41,150 |
| Top tenth earn over | $50,030 |
| This salary | $41,150 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Wisconsin | $34,069 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $35,244 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$326 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $39,687 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$395 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $41,150 as a midpoint for Wisconsin, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $29,530 and the ninetieth is $50,030 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $34,069 take-home in Wisconsin comes from $41,150. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 414 of 491.
- Two cautions on $36,595, the adjusted value of that $41,150 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Wisconsin. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 414 of 491 locally.
- The Wisconsin median of $41,150 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $29,530 to $50,030. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $34,069, from $41,150, assumes a single Wisconsin filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 414 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 12 of 51 for it.
- This $36,595 adjusted figure, worked from $41,150, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 414 of 491 in the state. The occupation ranks 414 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $29,530 and the top tenth $50,030, so most people doing this work in Wisconsin sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $36,595.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Wisconsin then takes its own share, leaving $34,069.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($29,530 to $50,030) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Wisconsin rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Wisconsin's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $36,595 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $34,069 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Wisconsin income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.